Saudi Arabia's top religious authority has banned the practice of forcing women to marry against their will. Grand mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh said forced marriage was against Islamic law and those responsible for it should be jailed.

Saudi Arabia has held its first elections of any kind for 40 years. Women had expected to have the vote: six even put their names forward as candidates. But, in one of the world's most repressive societies, they were banned from the poll.